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1/31/09

Blurb from Book:With a dotty, pajama-clad President Reagan refusing to leave the White House on his successor's Inauguration Day, Buckley has given this farce of Oval Office politics a nearly perfect beginning. Unfortunately, he uses his best shot first and the rest of the book rarely equals the wit that energizes the hilarious opening. Parodying the familiar form of the White House memoir, Buckley (author of Steaming in Bamboola, son of William F. Buckley) recounts the turbulent years of the Democratic Tucker administration, as told by loyalist Herbert Wadlough. Through this former accountant's eyes, we see the infighting that plagues the White House, the President's faltering marriage to a former starlet, and his ongoing crises, including restoration of ties with Castro andin one of the novel's smarter sectionsa Marxist coup in Bermuda. Buckley, a onetime speechwriter for George Bush, obviously knows Washington's foibles and follies, but the zest of the book's early promise is smothered by an otherwise bland performance.

normally love any book written by Christopher Buckley, but this one just didn't do it for me. This one fell flat for some reason. There are sparks of satire, but I think this one was too time-specific.

1/30/09

Samuel Yourdon was born March 13, 2008. He was born with Agilles syndrome and it means that little Samuel needs a liver transplant as well as a heart bi-pass. The surgery will take place at Columbian Presbyterian Hospital in New York City which is over 250 miles from where he lives with his parents.

Please help us with this fundraiser to help his family with the expenses that will be incurred in connection with this surgery. Money raised will be used for out of pocket expenses for the family for travel, hotels, food, and anything else needed by them during these two surgeries for Samuel.

Good News: 62.5% of the retail sales of candles sold will be given to Samuel’s family. There is no profit taken by the Home Interiors Consultant that organized this worthy cause fundraiser. Your purchase or donation is appreciated.

Donations are being accepted as well for those who would like to make a donation instead of purchasing candles. Paypal donations can be sent to: cbcovell27@verizon.net with “Samuel” in the notes.

Please make any checks for donations payable to: Brian A Yourdon Jr. with “Samuel” on the notation.Checks should be turned in with the orders and sent Beverly Covell by February 15th.Beverly Covell 32 Old Boorne Dr Apt L1 Clinton NY 13323Any questions please feel free to call: 315-853-4932 or email: cbcovell27@verizon.net

Blurb From Book: Jaz Parks here. My latest mission has taken me to the ancient Greek city of Patras; but instead of soaking up its splendor, I'm here to infiltrate a Vampere Trust. Only two vamps have ever escaped the tightly bound communities and lived to tell the tale: Edward "The Raptor"Samos, the most reviled criminal mastermind in recent memory, and Vayl, the CIA's number one assassin who also happens to be my boss. The Raptor is trying to take over Vayl's former Trust. Unfortunately the Trust's new leader has her own plans. This job is going to be the death of me.

I just love this series. Jaz is strong and independent with a smart mouth. It is truly the snarky comments that keep me in love with the character. Just when things seem to be bad, they get worse and Jaz, barely keeping it together this time, manages to get the bad guys in the end.

1/29/09

Blurb from book:Already the alpha pair of Denver's werewolf pack, Kitty and Ben now plan to tie the knot human-style by eloping to Vegas. Kitty is looking forward to sipping fru-fru drinks by the pool and doing her popular radio show on live TV, but her hotel is stocked with werewolf-hating bounty hunters. Elsewhere on the Strip an old-school magician might be wielding the real thing; the vampire community is harboring a dark secret; and the irresistible star of a suspicious animal act is determined to seduce Kitty. Sin City has never been so wild, and this werewolf has never had to fight harder to save not only her wedding, but her very life.

I just love this series. Kitty is a little less serious in this one, but it still has enough drama to keep you turning the pages.

1/28/09

Blurb from Book: After a chaotic marriage and a rough divorce, all Mira Hoskins wants is stability and normality. But when sexy Jack McAllister enters her life, she discovers that what you want isn't always what you need. Jack is a powerful witch with the ability to command fire and is anything but normal. As the head of a security detail for The Coven, a national organization that governs national witches, Jack has been assigned to watch over Mira. She is a natural born witch with the ability to call the air. And although she is unaware of her talent, a group of renegade witches has discovered her existence and are determined to steal her power--and her life.

This is a very fast paced story with lots of sex. The dialogue is witty and the characters have some depth. I really enjoyed it and look forward to another in this series.

1/26/09

Blurb from book...Guys can be annoying, but the demonic kind are the worst…That is how Kenzie Sutcliffe felt about Levi. He shot out of Kenzie’s shower, a.k.a. the demon hole, not too long ago. It was hard for Kenzie to close the portal—it involved her driving the family’s minivan into the kitchen. And what thanks does she get for that? She’s grounded, not allowed to drive, and getting chauffeured around by a demon whose driver’s license is dubious at best. Plus, the demon tells her, when one portal closes—another one opens…Even though Levi can be a pain, Kenzie just can’t let the other demons drag him back to hell. Guess that means it’s up to her to save the day…again!

Another adorable mini chick lit paranormal read from Erin McCarthy. Kenzie pulls off another save in the second book in the Demon series. I like the characters and witty dialogue. It is amazing how the author can develop the story in such a small space.

1/25/09

Blurb from BookMagpie's Tearoom is a cozy haven in bustling L.A. -- a place for luncheons, baby showers, or simply hanging out. Its owner, British expat Margaret Moore, relishes tradition...but between a frustrated chef preoccupied with her neglectful producer girlfriend and the tearoom's waitstaff -- a talented but desperate TV star who hasn't acted since Detective Buck Love went off the air, and a twenty-something ingénue who'll do anything to get the part -- her grandmother's scones begin to feel irrelevant.When the critic from Tea Talk announces she is crossing the pond to visit, Margaret attempts to marshal her staff. But, being of the thespian variety, they all want to be doing something else. Yet despite the high personal drama at hand, the customers still demand their perfectly steeped tea and cucumber sandwiches....As Margaret battles pilot season and produce-coordinator malfunctions, she begins to lose her will to live...in L.A.But can her L.A. neighborhood do without her tearoom?In this delightful debut novel with delicious recipes thrown in, Sandra Harper creates a hilarious world where Earl Grey and watercress make a meal, buttering the scones may get you scolded, and nobody does eggs anymore.

This is a very charming read about three women who all find their way in life. I really thought it was cute and quick.

1/24/09

Blurb from the book....Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid.When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny...

This is the first in a series and I really love the author's writing style. There is a lot of wit and the plot is fast paced while developing characters. I can't wait for the next one!

1/23/09

This is a very well written memoir and I found myself laughing out loud while at time being very saddened by his story of growing up. I really enjoyed his essay about camp (Camp Camp ?!? for gay kids) and the story about becoming a cheerleading was equally funny. Unfortunately, by the end of the book, the tales became somewhat redundant.

1/22/09

This is an adorable little book that would make a perfect gift to Jewish mothers. It has some humorous quotes that really ring true and are quite funny. It is really just a bunch of comics strung together by phrases.

SynopsisA real-life dating columnist and book author (Stop Getting Dumped!), Daily puts her debut novel's heroine into her professional shoes. Darby Vaughn, 31, is enjoying her success as the nation's most popular romance expert: she's got bestselling books, TV appearances and even her own perfume. But her empire threatens to topple when her cheating husband, aka her publicist, humiliates her and leaves her vulnerable to giant aftershocks in the press. After a few days of intense girlfriend therapy, Darby emerges from the haze of margaritas and sappy movies to rebuild her life starting with spin dating—i.e., dating for publicity. Besides being photographed canoodling with a basketball star and a young model, Darby hires the best divorce lawyer in town, who also just happens to be the hottest. Daily keeps things moving along quickly, and though her style is not exactly seasoned, she delivers some surprising depth and a heroine with heart to root for.

My Rating: 4 starsI just love Chick Lit and with that said, this is a great Chick Lit read. This is not going to win any Pulitzer Prize but it is a nice diversion for a stormy afternoon. This is one of those books that has just enough elements where is could possibly be true, but not quite.

1/21/09

So here are the rules:Link to the person who has tagged you.Write down six things that make you happy.Post the rules, tag six others and let them know you did it.Then tell the person when your entry is complete.Six Things That Make Me Happy:

1/20/09

synopsis:The sequel to the number-one New York Times bestseller The Friday Night Knitting Club, KNIT TWO returns to Walker and Daughter, the Manhattan knitting store founded by Georgia Walker and her young daughter, Dakota. Dakota is now an eighteen-year-old freshman at NYU, running the little yarn shop part-time with help from the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club. Drawn together by the sense of family the club has created, the knitters rely on one another as they struggle with new challenges: for Catherine, finding love after divorce; for Darwin, the hope for a family; for Lucie, being both a single mom and a caregiver for her elderly mother; and for seventysomething Anita, a proposal of marriage from her sweetheart, Marty, that provokes the objections of her grown children. As the club’s projects—an afghan, baby booties, a wedding coat—are pieced together, so is their understanding of the patterns underlying the stresses and joys of being mother, wife, daughter, and friend. Because it isn’t the difficulty of the garment that makes you a great knitter: it’s the care and attention you bring to the craft—as well as how you adapt to surprises.

This book picks right up where the Friday Night Knitting Club left off. I just wish I had read these books closer together, instead I ended up peaking at the synopsis on Amazon to bring me back up to speed with the story. Female bonding is the main theme here and Jacobs (gosh, it is weird to type that) does it with skill and sweetness. There is just enough mystery to keep me turing the pages. I highly recommend this to all.

1/18/09

SynopsisThree ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

This is probably going to be one of those books that everyone must read for the historical content and the attitudes that occurred in the South during the early civil rights movement. It was very emotional and the descriptions are so believable that you feel you are almost there as "help" and what these women endured.

Synopsis:Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan's worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he'd prefer to keep hidden. Whether it's a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwna is a hitman for the mob, with a genius for violence, a well-earned fear of sharks, and an overly close relationship with the Federal Witness Relocation Program. More likely to leave a trail of dead gangsters than a molecule of evidence, he's the last person you want to see in your hospital room.Nicholas LoBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is Dr. Brown's new patient, with three months to live and a very strange idea: that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might-just might-be the same person ...Now, with the mob, the government, and death itself descending on the hospital, Peter has to buy time and do whatever it takes to keep his patients, himself, and his last shot at redemption alive.

I loved this book!If you tried to explain the plot of this book to anyone sane, they would probably just stare at you, looking dumbfounded. This is probably what would happen if Dexter and Stephanie Plum had a literary child. This is a quick paced mystery and I can only hope for a second one.

Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo CultureAuthors: Trevor KelleyLeslie Simon
01/14/20097:28 AM
This is one of the better written books of this genre. It had some hilarious insight to the emo world. Emo is short for emotional, which came out of the punk music scene. You know, those kids you see at the mall always looking like they are gonna cry? The ones in the Cure T-shirt. Everybody Hurts is a great field guide for spotting these kids. I did learn a lot about this type of lifestyle, but it frightened me that I knew a little too much about the culture.

1/13/09

Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home (Broken Heart, Oklahoma, Book 4)Authors: Michele Bardsley01/13/20092:47 PMI love this series and the fact that it takes on a new character in each book. The basic feel of each book is related, but the story is always from a new viewpoint. This one takes on Libby Monroe who is a paranromal researcher and has her life turned around by dropping into Broken Heart and sticks around for good.

1/12/09

This was such a fun read, but could have used a little editing to make the plot tighter. It reminded me a lot of Dominick Dunne with the back-stabbing socialites from LA. I could just imagine reading about these women in People magazine.

1/10/09

Very cute YA paranormal. If you enjoyed the Salem Witch series by Kelly McClymer, you will love this one. Just replace witch with undead, like in vampire and you have a fun story about Daisy a "norm" living in a family of psychics. Of course she ends up on the cheerleading squad and discovers her hidden talent while finding the vampire that is causing havoc in the town of Nightshade. This one is very appropriate for younger girls not quite ready for Twilight.

This one had me laughing from the first page. The between the numbers books usually have some magical element to them and Diesel is back in Stephanie's life with some paranormal mischief in the form of a vampire(?). Bob the dog doesn't really make an appearance here, but you do get Carl the Monkey. Idon't think you will be dissapointed in this one.

1/8/09

I get to pass The Butterfly Award on now to some wonderful blogs. The rules are quite simple:Put the logo on your blog.Add a link to the person who awarded you.Award up to ten other blogs.Add links to those blogs on yours.Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

1/7/09

Ringo H. W. Chiu"It is a celebration and expression of joy," said Debbie Allen of the music video she directed for Barack Obama.

Debbie Allen directs a video for the song by the Not So Silent Majority collective.By TINA DAUNT January 7, 2009Barack Obama may have put the spring back in America's step, but Debbie Allen has found a way to give it rhythm.The Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Tony Award-winning choreographer directed the music video -- which made its debut Tuesday on MySpace -- for newly released pop track "Obama Rock." (The video can be seen at www.thenotsosilentmajority.com/privatelisten/obamarockvid.html.)The song was created by musical collective the Not So Silent Majority, which includes musical heavyweights Danielle Brisebois (writer-producer of Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" and "Pocketful of Sunshine"), Grammy winner Gregg Alexander (writer of Santana's "Game of Love" and New Radicals frontman), Paul McCartney's guitarist Rusty Anderson and Rick Nowels (writer of Dido's "White Flag").Allen selected 12 children attending her Culver City dance academy on scholarships to participate in the video, which she choreographed."It is a celebration and expression of joy," said Allen in an interview this week. "We are celebrating America."Originally, the catchy tune -- done "poppy" style with a strong dance rhythm -- was set to be released as a protest song. But, frankly, the song was too upbeat. (And Obama won the election.)As a result the song collaborators termed it a "celebratory anthem."The creators are hoping it will be selected as the "official inaugural song" by Obama's people. (No Senate confirmation required.)Allen, meanwhile, wants to take her young dancers back to Washington to perform for the president himself.She said, "Everyone has been walking around like they're on top of the world."And dancing there too.Hip-hop's hurrahRussell Simmons, Valeisha Butterfield, Dr. Benjamin Chavis and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network said Tuesday that they would host a hip-hop inaugural gala in Washington on Jan. 19.Simmons said the event would be "an upscale party" to welcome the new president. (So you'd better dress up if you want to get in the door.) Also expected to attend are T.I., LL Cool J and Young Jeezy, who helped get out the youth vote during the election.Heineken and MySpace are sponsoring.Tickets can be purchased on a first come, first served basis by going to www.hiphopinaugural.org or www.hsan.org.Black tie is recommended. It also helps if you can dance.

Overall this is a light and quick read which I really enjoyed. Aimee pretends to be a Shiksa (non-Jewish) to get the Jewish man of her dreams and when she finds it is harder to keep up the lie, she becomes honest with herself. By not pretending, she finds the love she was looking for was right there all along.

1/5/09

This is Bob. He normally sits in the entry way, but he gets moved so the Christmas tree can go there. I normally decorate him for each holiday...I just took off his Santa hat. I have a little Valentine head band he will wear next.

This is a very bittersweet memoir of a woman with a very sad upbringing. Her mother kills herself at 14 and the father get custody but doesn't want her so he farms her out to foster families that he pays. Of course she goes looking for love in all the wrong places and substitutes sex for love. It is amazing how she can remain somewhat positive through out her life. Overall a good read,

1/4/09

Most of the giveaways are limited to the USA except where noted. Some states do not allow these type of giveaways. It is your responsibility to know the laws in your state.

I use Rafflecopter to power my giveaways.

Please note: You must be over 13 years old to enter the giveaways.. some adult books are limited to 18, per publisher request. I do my best to insure that you receive your prize but sometimes this is out of my control. If you do not receive the prize within a reasonable time period (THREE weeks), you must notify me by email immediately. I may not be able to do anything if it is a longer time period than this.
I will notify you by email when I submit your information to the publisher. If I mail the book, I ALWAYS use delivery confirmation* and safe packaging.I am not responsible if the book is not received or damaged in the mail.I am not responsible if the publisher or publicist refuses to honor the prize. I may be forced to substitute the prize. I will try to give you your choice of genre.

I haven't had time to post a review yet, but I finished Robin McKinley's Sunshine.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Sunshine is a post apocalyptic vampire tale told with much detail. I fell in love with the writer's style and humor. I plowed right through this for the first 200 pages and then it became repetitive. If there had been a few edits, the whole story would have been perfect for me. The main character, Sunshine, has a great voice and I would probably enjoy a sequel to this.

1/1/09

I love to read and collect books. My favorite things right now are Chick Lit, Memoirs, Paranormal and Young Adult, but I am pretty much open to trying anything.

I am married with a son who just graduated from USC. My dachshund is pretty much my world though. UPDATE: My husband is now working with my son! My son started there first though.....

My other love is gardening and the yard is getting back into shape! Trying to have and English Cottage garden in the desert just didn't work, so I am slowly replacing a lot of it with more Mediterranean types that fit into the style.